Paavo Stenius was born in Oulu in Northern Finland. Stenius lived in various parts of Finland throughout his life but settled in Jyväskylä in central Finland twenty years ago because of its beautiful nature surrounded by lakes and forest. Stenius has had a love of the forest since he was a boy, spending hours exploring and playing amongst the spruce and pine trees. His work predominantly depicts the Finnish forest and lakes.
With no formal artistic training, Stenius started painting in watercolour as a young adult becoming a full-time artist in 2000. He concentrated on paintings of the Finnish forest and birdlife. In 2004, Stenius started to paint in oil for the first time. He developed an Expressionistic technique using strong vibrant colours and also experimented with Pointillism. Stenius continued to paint the lakes and forest which surround him as well as the big mammals of the northern climes.
Stenius comments that he only paints when he is happy and the bright, vibrant colours of his work reflect this move. Forests, lakes, bears and reindeer, that we associate so much with the north of Finland are seen through a joyful filter- a celebration of nature.
Stenius has had various solo exhibitions around Finland and has participated in group exhibitions in Rome, Berlin and Prague. In 2014, Stenius won first prize in the Oktober Fest Art competition held by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Helsinki.